Increasing productivity through battery power

EnerSys has enabled Gaer Business to significantly increase productivity, improve warehouse management and eliminate interruptions to shifts and workflow at its warehouse facility in Corte Tegge, Italy. It achieved these improvements by supplying its heavy-duty IRONCLAD batteries, which provide extended power, cycling life and capacity without needing more charging time than conventional lead-acid technology.

Gaer Business is one of the main logistics partner for Expert in Italy, a major Swiss house appliances retailer. Accordingly, it manages the supply chain and daily deliveries for more than 200 shops across all Italian regions. In Gaer’s warehouse facility in Corte Tegge this calls for unloading approximately 10 large trucks a day, with peaks of up to 1500 items being moved.

This workload presented a major pallet truck battery challenge, arising from limited space availability. Aisles were kept to just 2.5 metres in width to create maximum warehouse space for storage. The restricted maneuvering spaces dictated a choice of the smallest available counterbalanced truck models with correspondingly small batteries: a three-wheel type with 10-quintals counterbalance and, as standard, classic 24 V, 500 A VRLA batteries. This yielded inadequate daily and cyclic battery autonomy. The situation was exacerbated as the trucks expend energy rapidly in using a clamp to handle large, heavy appliances such as washing machines.

When Gaer understood these standard batteries inadequacies, they asked EnerSys® to investigate a potential solution. The requirement was to accurately measure and analyse Gaer’s current energy usage, and then provide higher-capacity batteries that would significantly increase daily and cyclical autonomy.

EnerSys performed this analysis in the summer of 2016 using their Wi-iQ battery mounted monitoring devices. This allowed EnerSys® to check exactly how many Ampere-hours Gaer needed, the charging times and how often they had to change the battery. In this business case, the Wi-iQ battery-mounted monitoring devices were essential in identifying the right technology for Gaer.

The results revealed a continuous state of over-discharge that was threatening battery lifecycles. In response, EnerSys recommended their heavy-duty IRONCLAD batteries, as they required no more charging time than the conventional lead-acid types being replaced, yet offered extended power, cycling life and capacity.

“Our decision to opt for IRONCLAD batteries has resulted in significantly increased productivity”, commented Ezio Pirondi, site manager at Corte Tegge. He added: “We are achieving better warehouse management, with no interruptions to shifts or workflow. We feel that the project’s success has come not only from the IRONCLAD battery technology, but also the flexibility shown by EnerSys in identifying our requirements and then tailoring a solution to fit these. Their analysis of our space and daily duty cycle constraints, followed by their implementation of their significantly enhanced battery technology, allowed us to optimise our efficiency and achieve best practice, even within these constraints.”

The operational benefits of using the batteries include a longer discharge time, fewer battery changes, and fewer spare batteries chargers and charging racks being required. This in turn allows for smaller battery rooms – an especially valuable advantage in applications like Gaer’s, where space is at a premium.

The longer discharge time allows Gaer to establish longer work shifts with reduced truck downtime. The capital investment requirement is lower, with a longer depreciation period. Fleet size is also optimised.

By opting for IRONCLAD batteries, which benefit from a longer service life warranty, Gaer has also realised further, indirect benefits. The cost of truck maintenance is reduced because the higher sustained voltage and lower current draw of the batteries diminishes heat and strain on the truck’s electrical components. As a result, trucks not only perform better during the shift, but also run longer before requiring a battery change.

The batteries also benefit from the application of the EnerSys Airmix system that induces electrolytes to flow around the cell through the introduction of atmospheric air. This prevents electrolyte and temperature stratification and optimises recharging.

Furthermore, the batteries deliver higher sustained voltage and rugged reliability for higher productivity, even in the toughest, heaviest-duty applications, with one extra hour from each charge being possible. Their square tubular, positive plate design, which uses Cladex tubing, can run with higher specific gravities. This not only increases power and run-time, but also service life as a design specification of 1800 cycles can mean up to an extra year’s life in many applications.

Related Articles

For decades electric vehicle fleet operators and OEMs had very little choice when it came to power sources, with batteries built using flooded lead-acid cells the only practical option. While these batteries evolved to give more power, efficiency and reliability there have always been limits to their potential. Recent innovations such as lithium-ion offer an alternative but are still relatively expensive while novel technologies such as hydrogen fuel cells have yet to find practical or affordable applications in the mass market. PWE reports.

For industrial compressed-air plants, the cost of acquisition accounts on average for only about 30% of the total lifecycle cost. The remaining 70% - energy costs. The good news is: upgrading to the latest compressed-air technology can reduce those costs significantly. It is no surprise then that energy efficiency remained top of the agenda at ComVac, at this year's Hannover Fair.

In the world of classic cars the E-Type Jaguar would probably be among the first to be mentioned by anyone asked to name a design classic and today this is certainly one of the most prestigious and sought after models. Demand for the car, famously described by Enzo Ferrari as ‘the most beautiful car in the world’ continues to grow and the restoration and re-engineering of E-Types has become a highly specialised process requiring exceptional craftsmanship, expertise and a great deal of time. PWE takes a look at how HPC Compressors is helping with re-engineering of the iconic E-Type.